A Future Most Seen
by IRiSEaGLes
Summary: Written for The Houses Competition, year 5. Sybill Trelawney is about to embark on her newest adventure - going to Hogwarts as the ghost of her great-great-grandmother gives her final words of advice.


"Sybill, darling, you have a great future before you. It has been written. I am just a mere messenger." She was done imparting what knowledge she had at this point, it was up to the girl to go from here.

"But, I don't know what to expect," the girl with the oversized soda-bottle glasses and wild hair plead with the spectre in front of her. "Am I going to fit in? Are there others like me?"

The phantom floated around the little girl's room, taking in how much her great-great-granddaughter was like herself. There were cushions strewn about everywhere in the room that moved regularly to form what could only be called a bed in the most basic of terms. The floating candles created a multitude of shadows and lights dancing on the many richly coloured fabrics draping the walls. It always leads to the air of other ghosts dancing around, though the spectre knew she was the only one that had ever crossed the threshold of this room before. There were no family pictures anywhere to be seen. Sybill never liked having faces look at her with the emptiness that photographs caused. Instead, there were the trinkets that she had inherited from family members and those which she pilfered on her many trips to Diagon Alley and the family's many - and usually forced - travels over the years.

The Trelawney family was not rich, nor were they overly poor, but they lived in their own comfort zone. Since the passing of Cassandra a decade ago, the family lived off their name recognition primarily. Exploiting the 'possession' of the gift of the Inner Eye that Cassandra was known for, even though said gift never manifested to any of the other family members.

That was until Sybill. She was different from the rest. The day she was born, Cassandra felt her family's aura change - it went from a dull grey to a vibrant blue. Blue for wisdom. Blue for sight. And she knew from that mere moment that Sybill would be the next great Trelawney.

The very moment that Sybill took her first breath, and Cassandra looked down on the babe, she knew her time was nigh. She made it until the child's first birthday, which was an achievement on its own, and at the moment the baby girl turned one, the great nothingness opened up to Cassandra. It had been foretold many times, that no two seers could exist in one family at any given time. And so Cassandra passed through the veil in peace, keeping just a piece of her behind for the child. The child would need guidance, acceptance, love and most importantly she will need help to nurture her gift. And none of the frauds that made up the remaining Trelawneys would be able to provide that kind of knowledge to the babe.

And now as Sybill turns the milestone of eleven, Cassandra also knew what kind of hardships her great-great-granddaughter would have to face in the following few years. She will have to face skeptics. She will face the non-believers. She will face those who will question her Inner Eye and the visions that she will foretell. She will face great trials. Yet she knew, somehow, that Sybill will survive and show the world that the Trelawney name is still strong in its Sight.

Sybill was an awkward child, one whose family seemed to pass her over for an average magical just like them. This lack of attention led her to snatch items that caught her fancy, especially items tied into the mystic art of Divination. It all started when she was little, barely older than three. She was drawn to the items that would tell someone of their future.

Now, Sybil hoarded a collection of crystal balls, in varying sizes and colours that dotted around her little room. She had numerous teacups and teapots haphazardly placed, but she always seemed to favour the cup with a chip in the golden rim, saying that it would speak to her in the clearest voice.

The girl's family was considered as false as gypsies were by Muggles nowadays, people that stole and preyed off of the pain of others. Sybill didn't know a life any different than this one. She would always hear what her father would say to the unfortunate souls that walked through the door of his shop and asking for answers about their future. She would see a different story, a different message, a different future. Many times her father would portray the usual happy ending, but all Sybill saw was pain and death.

Only once did she dispell what her father said in front of a customer. That was all it took for the young girl to hold her tongue in his presence while he worked at his shop.

That very day she got rebuffed was also the day that the ghost started to make trips to visit and chat.

It began as a simple caress at night that she perceived in that window between wakefulness and dreams. Then slowly the ghost made her presence felt more strongly, then fully seen, and finally, she was later heard.

Now, it was nearly a nightly occurrence that the ghost would make her appearance, teaching the girl the ancient art of Divination and the family's gift of the Inner Eye.

"No, I shall say there will never be another like you, my child. You are special, unique. Your gift will cause you great heartache, but will also be your greatest gift to the world."

Cassandra saw the fortune that this child from her line would tell. She saw the evil creature at the centre of the vision that would turn her great-great-granddaughter's life around and how some people would follow this vision to their demise while others would cling to it as the last saving grace. She saw the innocent baby boy that would be cursed to live with part of this creature within him and somehow survive when the creature will fall.

He was nothing more than an innocent.

He reminded Cassandra so much of her Sybill.

"Sybill, my child, the one thing I must pass onto you before you leave this house is that you must never lose faith. I am tied to this family and our home, thus I may not see you in school, so take this time and learn. Learn from those who seek to give you guidance and wisdom. Learn from those who seek to bring you down. But most of all, learn to listen to your voice. That voice that resonates so strongly within you. That voice that will be heard echoing through the halls of the grand castle. That powerful voice that will foretell greatness in the midst of endless darkness." The spectre floated her way to the cup, the one that was the girl's favourite, understanding the words that it spoke to her. "Trust few, because there are only a handful of believers. Those who do believe, they will need to see with their own eyes before following you. But once they do they will be your strongest ally. They will be the beacon of light and goodness in the eternal night. They will be the order in the chaos." A sigh escaped the lips of the past Seer, "I must go. You shall not see me again until you return from school for good. This will be a long few years for you my child, but it is necessary for your growth. It is necessary for you to trust in your Inner Eye to guide you in life."

The young girl with the uncontrolled curly hair and large goggle-like glasses looked on as the ghost of the great Cassandra Trelawney disappeared before her eyes.

"But how am I supposed to go forward without you? You are my only friend. You are the only person that b-believes me." A tear fell onto her billowing skirt as the girl collapsed into a heap on the floor. "You are the only one that loves me."

* * *

Author's Note:

House: Snakes  
Class: Potions  
Standard  
Prompt: [Character] Sybill Trelawney  
Word Count:1344


End file.
